Showing posts with label Vitamins and Minerals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vitamins and Minerals. Show all posts

Importance of Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are present in almost all of our food stuffs. These are essential elements to making us healthy and strong individuals. Vitamins and minerals can be supplemented by vitamin tablets and other pills but the most efficient sources of these are natural organic foods. A good combination of these organic foods can supply individuals with the right amount of vitamins and minerals needed to get through the day and maintain our health.

Vitamins are essential for the growth and health of any living organism. Without the proper amount, the body does not assimilate any of them, and can't effectively do its job.

The definition of minerals is that they are inorganic elements that our bodies need to make and repair hard and soft body tissue and other functions of our body. There are two kinds of minerals in our body, trace elements and major elements. These vitamins and minerals go together to help maintain our bodies and keep it in prime condition.

Vitamins and minerals are needed by people to enable growth and repair of our tissues and muscles.

Here I want to share some common but very helpful importance of Vitamins and Minerals for our healthy life:-

(1) Women,especially at their pre-menopausal stage, need iron supplements the most. Fortified cereals, whole grains, dried fruits, nuts and seeds are important sources of iron. Red meat is also rich in iron but it should be taken only three servings per week. Combination of these iron supplements with ingredients high in Vitamin C will help your body absorb the iron properly.

(2)Vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets in children, and osteoporosis and other diseases in Adults.Vitamin D is very necessary for Cancer prevention.One needs to supplement the body with Vitamin D rich substances like vitamin D-fortified milk and milk substitutes, fatty fish such as salmon, and vitamin D-fortified yogurt.

(3) Calcium, along with Vitamin D, is necessary for bone health. Milk, fortified soy milk, dairy products, almonds, beans, sesame seeds and broccoli are Calcium rich food.

(4) Selenium is a lesser known mineral but it is never the less important. It supports the immune system, reduces inflammation and helps protect from cancer. Sunflower seeds, fish, shellfish, red meat and one Brazil nut daily will give you enough selenium.


(5) Lithium Orotatediffers chiefly from prescription strength lithium based on the ion it is bound to. Lithium orotate has also been used with success in alleviating the pain from migraine and cluster headaches, low white blood cell counts, juvenile convulsive disease, alcoholism and liver disorders.

(6) Vitamin C is an antioxidant vitamin that is believed to protect the brain from damage caused by Alzheimer. It helps you to tackle stress better and also protects you from common cold. A glass of Orange juice, citrus fruits, bell peppers, kiwifruit, papaya, broccoli, dark leafy greens and strawberries will provide you Vitamin C.

(7) Vitamin K plays an important role to strengthen the bones, avoid blood clotting and prevent hardening of arteries. Dark, leafy vegetables are good source of Vitamin K.

(8) Poly MVA is a water and fat soluble formulation and acts as a potent anti-oxidant. It increases the metabolism rate in the body acts as a nutritional supplement generating energy.

(9) Cancer fighting B vitamin folate reduces risk of Alzheimer. It is good for pregnant women as it reduces the risk of having babies with neural tube defects. Spinach helps you get folate. Other sources are beans, peanuts, broccoli, corn, lentils and oranges.

(10) The antioxidant Vitamin E fights free radicals and reduces risk of heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer. Daily intake of nuts and seeds such as almonds and sunflower seeds will provide you Vitamin E.

(11) Intramax is a very powerful therapeutic product and exceptional for those who are ultra hypoallergenic,100% carbon-bond organic microcomplexed liquid trace mineral supplement, plus an all-in-one multivitamin.

(12) The mineral Magnesium helps build strong bones and lower risk of diabetes by enhancing the action of insulin in your body. Beans, nuts, seeds and green vegetables such as spinach are great sources of Magnesium.

(13) Potassium helps to maintain blood pressure. It also helps reduce your risk of stroke. Beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, dried fruits, winter squash, cantaloupe, kiwi, orange juice, prune juice and avocados are good sources of Potassitm.

Vitamin C- Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is known as ascorbic acid as well.
It offers a whole slew of benefits to our health.
Vitamin C helps in maintaining the balance in ligaments, tendons and other adjacent tissues.
Vitamin C has anti-oxidant property, so it helps us fighting with the symptoms of aging.
Not only that, due to its anti-oxidant property it helps us to preserve healthy blood cells from becoming collapsed from the toxic substances in the air that may even lead to cancer in some cases.

Vitamin C Functions :-
Vitamin C benefits us a lot.The best benefit offered by vitamin C is collagen formation. Collagen is essentially a protein substance that helps keeping all the cells together.
Vitamin C aids in the formation of collagen.Without Vitamin C, the formation of collagen is interrupted.Vitamin C is present and active within the cell wall where it aids in modifying pro-collagen into collagen.
Vitamins C benefits in the absorption of iron as well. Iron is essential to keep us healthy and vibrant. It maintains a healthy and clear skin, fresh complexion and healthy gums and teeth. It offers a healthy functioning for all glands and organs including adrenal and thyroid glands. It also aids in relieving all sort of stressors, both physical and psychological.
No research has shown any effective result in treating common cold symptoms by using vitamin C supplements.

Vitamin C Deficiency
So, we can easily understand that vitamin C is important to our health system. Vitamin C benefits in various aspects. It can aid our system both from inside as well as from outside also.
A deficiency in vitamin C may result in soft gums, skin hemorrhages, collagen deformation, Achilles' heel, anemia, and slow healing. If your diet lacks vitamin C, you might find yourself older too fast.
Vitamin C benefits in thyroid balance, so thyroid insufficiency is quite prevalent in such cases. Deficiency in vitamin C may also lead to weak immune system, so resistance to all diseases becomes very low.
Toxic effect of drugs and environmental pollutants can affect human healthy greatly if you lack vitamin C. In worst cases, a deficiency in vitamin C may also lead to the development of scurvy. It is the development of bruised spots on the skin along with soft spongy gums as well as continuous bleeding from mucous membranes.

Availability
Mostly you can avail vitamin C from citrus foods such as oranges,limes and grapefruits. You can get vitamin C benefits from vegetables such as tomatoes, green peppers and potatoes.
Apart from that, vitamin C is also available in various foods such as cantaloupes, honeydew melon, red peppers, strawberries, mandarin orange, mangoes and kiwifruits.
However, the essential nutrient quality of vitamin C can easily be damaged during food processing and storages such as at the time of slicing, exposing to the air, cooking and boiling.
The quality can also be harmed if the vegetables are submerged in the water for a long time. So, it is always better that you use fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables as much as possible to receive maximum vitamin C value.
However, it is rare to see that people are lacking vitamin C in their diet. It is mainly because of the fact of plentiful availability of vitamin C in nature. So the quantity of supply is however enough for a daily requirement.

Precaution
Some people consider that vitamin C is water soluble. So, large amount of vitamin C may not produce harm. But it is not true.Vitamin C benefits only if you take a maximum of 2000mg per day.The most serious complication that occurs with the excessive dosage is diarrhea.
Vitamin C plays a significant role in healthy diet. However, excess intake is not at all recommended. If you take it in excessive amount, it may cause harm to health.
A well-balanced diet may ensure healthy nutrients securing the sufficient amount of vitamin C. It helps in alleviating possible health hazards.

Disease Prevention with the help of Vitamin C :-
The amount of vitamin C required to prevent chronic disease appears to be more than that required for prevention of scurvy.

Cardiovascular Disease :-
(1) Coronary Heart Disease
(2) Stroke
(3) Cataract
(4) Lead toxicity

Importance of Vitamin C :-

Type 1 - Connective tissue of skin, bone, teeth, tendons, ligaments, fascia, organ capsules
Type 2 - Cartilage
Type 3 - Connective tissue of our organs (liver, spleen, kidneys, etc.)
Type 4, 5 - The separating layer between epithelial and endothelial cells as well as between skeletal or smooth muscle cells (basal lamina), kidney glomeruli, lens capsule, and Schwann and glial cells of the nervous system.
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